Béla Fleck

Banjo beyond bluegrass

Béla Anton Leoš Fleck was born on July 10, 1958 in New York City, named after Béla Bartók, Anton Webern and Leoš Janáček. He was drawn to the banjo by Earl Scruggs's Beverly Hillbillies theme and "Dueling Banjos", got his first banjo at fifteen, and in the late 1970s joined the bluegrass group Tasty Licks, recording two albums for Rounder. His solo debut Crossing the Tracks (1979) was voted best overall album by Frets readers. In 1981 he formed Spectrum and joined New Grass Revival at Sam Bush's invitation, staying nine years; that band also included John Cowan, Curtis Burch and Courtney Johnson.

With the Flecktones, formed in 1988 with Victor Wooten on bass, Roy Future Man Wooten on drumitar and Howard Levy on harmonica, he plays jazz, fusion and world music. He recorded with Tony Rice from 1984: Double Time (1984), Drive (1988), Tales from the Acoustic Planet (1995) and The Bluegrass Sessions (1999). His first MerleFest, around April 30 and May 1, 1988 by JamBase, brought Rice, Mark O'Connor, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and John Cowan together.